LA Daily

L.A. Police Union Defies The Governor With A Wink And A Nod

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:05:42 -0800

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union the represents rank-and-file members of the Los Angeles Police Department, on Friday issued a statement calling Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's prisoner-release plan "dangerous and unacceptable."

The governor's plan was submitted to a three-judge panel that is overseeing a federal mandate forcing the state to reduce its prison population by 40,000 criminals in the next two years. Of course, the Governator didn't really mean it when he submitted his latest proposal: He's biding for time while appealing the population-reduction ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Is Alleged War-Hero Imposter Also Sgt. Leatherchaps? (We Investigate)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:31:41 -0800

U.S. Attorney

On Veteran's day we told you about the strange saga of 39-year-old Steven Burton, who the U.S. Attorney has accused of posing as a war hero -- uniform, Purple Heart, the whole get-up. We were recently forwarded photos of a man who might or might not be Burton posing in a decidedly sexual manner.

A U.S. Navy Commander at her high school reunion broke the case open when she spotted the suspect in full Naval dress, rare medals and all and, suspicious, asked to take photo with him. She forwarded the image to authorities, and they charged him with unauthorized display of armed forces medals. After we wrote about it, a male reader came forward to allege that the suspect had contacted him previously in an online chat room, claimed to be a Marine, and told him he liked to pick up guys at gay bars while dressed as a military man. He alleges they struck an ongoing, flirtatious internet relationship (and that the suspect had claimed to be someone else but later admitted to his own identity). We're not sure if the claims are true, but the accompanying photos appear to depict Burton in a wholly different kind of uniform. Is it really him? (Warning: NSFW, and possibly NSFL -- not safe for lunch).

Man Arrested For Allegedly Hiring Teen Boys To Spit On Him

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:39:16 -0800

Fox

Herbert.

A Thousand Oaks man was arrested after allegedly paying boys from a local high school to spit on him, slap him and yell profanities at him, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department reports.

Authorities say some teens even alleged that the suspect, identified as 39-year-old Charles William Hersel, paid them to urinate and defecate on him. Ventura County Sheriff's officials say the suspect lured teens via MySpace but soon had a steady flow of victims as word got around tony Westlake High School that he was paying to get spit on.

Judge Throws Out Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Miley Cyrus

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:19:44 -0800

Me so racist.

A lawsuit from a woman who claimed Miley Cyrus violated her civil rights and those of other Asian-Americans when she stretched her eyes out with her fingers for a photo was thrown out Friday.

Claimant Lucie Kim argued that the photo, exposed in February, infringed on her civil rights, but a local judge wasn't having it. The shot drew some ire from Asian-American leaders, including the the OCA, which demanded an apology from Cyrus.

When Claiming Disability, Try Not To Appear On TV ... Working

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:22:21 -0800

A Sunland interior designer pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud this week after he had claimed disability to the tune of more than $147,000 and an insurance company worker happened to catch the man on television -- working.

Ronald E. Hunt, 56 continued working as a designer even as he claimed to be unable to work. But an employee with an insurance company paying his disability claim spotted him on an HGTV home improvement show and told the California Department of Insurance.

The Gangs Of New Media: Criminals Get Social Too

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:30 -0800

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico.

Gang members have been spotted on MySpace and YouTube and have now spread to Facebook and Twitter. It's a natural migration: The "sets" rely on technology to communicate like everyone else. But now lawmakers are seeking ways to keep tabs on gangsters online.

State Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, who's running for state Attorney General, held a select committee hearing in Southern California Thursday called "Gangs 2.0: The Emerging Threat of Cyberthugs."

For The Record: Setting Things Straight Regarding Neon Tommy Report On LA Weekly

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Neon Tommy, the publication of the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, this week takes a look at the Weekly and some of the changes that have taken place at the paper in recent months, including the hiring of Editor-in-Chief Drex Heikes, a well-respected journalist who has edited the Los Angeles Times Magazine and more recently oversaw a Pulitzer Prize-winning series at the Las Vegas Sun.

Let's get this out of the way first. As the Tommy admits, it got a few things wrong: It stated that the Weekly's editorial staff consists of six people -- three editors and three staff writers. It left out music editor Randall Roberts, web editor Erin Broadley, food blog editor Amy Scattergood, and copy editors Karre Jacobs and Mel Yiasemide. Editorial creative director Darrick Rainey, assistant art director Jason Jones and designer Mitch Handsone were also left out of the editorial head count. There are seven full-time print and web staff writers: Gendy Alimurung, Patrick Range McDonald, Libby Molyneaux, Christine Pelisek, Scott Foundas and Liz Ohanesian, who is also the online editorial assistant. On the part-time/regular-freelance tip there's critic at large Steven Leigh Morris, assistant listings editors Siran Babayan, Falling James and Derek Thomas, as well as columnists Nikki Finke, Jonathan Gold and Lina Lecaro. Neon Tommy also said the news blogger is an editor. We can assure you, he is not.

Oprah Out (But How Will We Know What Books To Read?)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:54:02 -0800

Nikki Finke nailed it. Oprah Winfrey is signing off of her network show in 2011 to focus on her cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which is scheduled to debut in January of that year, it was announced Thursday.

The speculation is that Winfrey will have a show similar to her blockbuster, syndicated program, the Oprah Winfrey Show, on her network. The move will likely result in a much smaller audience, but it could also sway some of her regular viewers to flood her network, which is being launched in a deal with Discovery.

All Your Bong Are Belong To U.S.

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:10:12 -0800

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Let me see that bong ba-bong bong bong.

The man cannot be fooled: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced Thursday they seized a bong-load of paraphernalia that was shipped to the U.S. from China disguised as holiday ornaments.

The goods were described as "glass figures and Christmas ornaments," but, as a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency reads, "The highly decorated glass pipes did not fool CBP officials." Did you hear that stoners? The feds roll ninja style, so don't even try.

Hollywood Sign Not So Accessible ... To Hollywood Film Crews

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:17:24 -0800

In one of those only-in-L.A. factoids, we're amused to report that one of the places the Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Teamsters say is difficult to access for location shoots is the iconic, industry-marking Hollywood sign.

Yes folks, only in L.A. could Hollywood have a hard time filming "Hollywood." Other sore spots: the AT&T Building downtown, County-USC Medical Center, Farmers and Merchants Bank downtown, the Griffith Park Observatory, the Japanese Heritage Museum in Little Tokyo, Library Park at the Central Library, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Headquarters, the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Terminal Annex Post Office.

Murder was the Case: LA Homicide No. 273, Man Gunned Down in Sear's Parking Lot

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:18:18 -0800

A man was fatally shot in the parking lot of a North Hollywood Sears department store on November 18. The 8:45 p.m. shooting took place in the 6400 block of North Laurel Canyon Blvd close to Victory Blvd.

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Lt. Bryan Lium of the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Station, said the victim and the shooter - who were acquaintances - agreed to meet in the Sear's parking lot after an argument on the phone Wednesday. Later, in the parking lot, the two men resumed their fight and the victim was shot once in the neck with a semiautomatic handgun. According to eyewitness reports, the suspect drove off in a BMW 3-Series black 4-door sedan that had no license plate. The victim - who police say was in his 20's - was transported to a hospital and later died, Lium said. Anyone with information should contact the North Hollywood Division detectives at 818-623-4016.

UC Tuition Hits The Roof: 10k A Year Would Buy A Lot Of Beer

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:16 -0800

This guy.

The University of California Board of Regents on Thursday bit the bullet and approved a 32 percent increase in tuition that will see a two-phase, $2,500 price hike that will put the public system's undergraduate education costs at more than 10,000 a year and triple tuition and fees for UCLA students compared to ten years ago.

Protests are happening at UCLA, where a group of students has taken over Campbell Hall. But the regents were stuck with a $535 million deficit that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't about to help with.

Friends Of Crash Victim Allege LAPD Cover-Up

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:32:25 -0800

Friends of a Brentwood woman who was killed in a collision with a Los Angeles Police Department cruiser last month held a vigil this week and called for an investigation into whether the patrol car was speeding to an emergency call without its lights and sirens on -- a practice that was banned by the department in 2004.

Devin Petelski

Friends and family of 25-year-old Devin Petelski call the practice "silent running" and have started a Facebook page to urge the LAPD to take stricter measures to "end" that kind of driving. Police have said the cruiser was not speeding but that it was, in fact, responding to an officer-assist call for a burglary in progress when it crashed into Petelski's BMW shortly before midnight of Oct. 15.

Pro-Pot Group Says L.A. City Council In Its Pocket

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:54:39 -0800

Pro-medical-marijuana group Americans For Safe Access this week claimed victory in its campaign to get the Los Angeles City Council to see things its way when it comes to regulating L.A.'s 800 or so registered pot shops.

After campaigning on-air at KPCC (89.3 FM), ASA claims it has beaten back the strict, anti-dispensary stances of county District Attorney Steve Cooley and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and that the council will eventually emerge with legislation that allows the kind of over-the-counter pot shops that have proliferated in neighborhoods such as Venice, Hollywood and Sherman Oaks.

South L.A.'s Hospital Of Horrors To Reopen

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:23:44 -0800

This place.

The UC Board of Regents on Thursday agreed to help reopen one of the most troubled medical institutions in state history, Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. The move followed an offer by billionaire doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong, who put $100 million in loan guarantees on the table in an effort to get the institution back on its feet.

After years of mismanagement, lawsuit payouts and horrific allegations -- a patient died in the emergency room begging for help, two others perished while vital signs went unnoticed, staff used taser guns to tame unruly psychiatric patients -- the county finally shut the thing down in 2007.